PIRM
Project
The Positive Impact Research Market (PIRM) is an initiative promoted by Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) in Lugano, Switzerland that aims to create a virtual platform connecting students, professors, and organizations (companies, NGOs, public administrations, startups) involved in sustainable development. It is part of the project CAMPUS – Collaborative Action for Multidisciplinary Progress and Understanding of Sustainability, with the support of the federal sustainability programme coordinated by swissuniversities.
The project is realised in collaboration with Impact Hub Ticino and Social Business Earth, which contribute to the conceptual and operational support, ensuring an effective user experience and facilitating the matching between companies, startups and students.
The PIRM Project has the following objectives:
- Applied research opportunities for students, allowing them to work on Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral theses that address challenges related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN 2030 Agenda.
- Enable companies to benefit from the work of young students, who concretely apply academic methods and knowledge, with the support of USI professors.
Operation of the platform
The USI CareerGate platform will act as an intermediary between companies, which propose research topics, and students, who choose them for their Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD theses. Companies will upload on the USI CareerGate platform a proposal containing the description of the sustainability challenge or topic, indicating the faculty they are addressing, and the level of training required to solve the challenge or address the topic. Students interested in the proposed research topic will then look for a Supervisor willing to assist them in writing their thesis.
Outputs achieved by the company
The company that decides to offer a theme for the students’ dissertation will obtain, at the end of the work period:
- The student’s research thesis validated by the Supervisor, Co-Rapporteur and a university evaluation committee;
- A project report, in corporate style, with the main results obtained from the research.
Benefits for companies
Participating companies will have the opportunity to:
- Propose research topics aligned with their own needs in sustainability or sustainable innovation;
- Access free quality research developed by students under the guidance of USI academic members;
- Build relationships with future sustainability professionals;
- Obtain innovative ideas and viable solutions for their business;
- Benefit from a youthful outlook on sustainability challenges.
Degree of company involvement
The company that decides to propose a research topic through the platform, once contacted by the student, will be able to decide the frequency of meetings with the latter (minimal, with only an initial and a final meeting, or regular, with weekly, monthly or bimonthly meetings) and what data to share.
Types of student performance
The type of thesis work that will be obtained depends on the student’s level of education and the faculty to which they belong. The topic may be approached from different perspectives depending on the faculty the student attends.
There are six faculties at USI:
- Academy of Architecture
- Faculty of Biomedical Sciences
- Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society
- Faculty of Economics
- Faculty of Informatics
- Lugano Faculty of Theology
Sensitive Data Management
Università della Svizzera italiana is deeply committed to the protection and responsible management of sensitive data. All information collected by the PIRM Project will be processed in accordance with applicable data protection laws. Data will be used exclusively for the specific purposes of the project, and all necessary measures will be taken to ensure security and confidentiality. At the start of each collaboration, the involved parties will sign a contract that governs the project management and processing of sensitive data.
Expenses and fees
No remuneration is payable by the company to the student, or to USI, Social Business Earth and Impact Hub Ticino, for the completion of the thesis. Any type of compensation agreed outside of this contract between the client organization and the student must be made known to USI.
For more information about the project or to submit a research proposal, please contact us at projects@socialbusinessearth.org or visit the dedicated PIRM page on USI’s website.
Are you an impact startup with a challenge or research question to explore through academic research? Get in touch with us.
